Connected container



CONNECTED CONTAINER Filed' Oct. 16, 1940 ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 24, 1943 2321.529 common-:1) comma Herbert M. Kieckheferand sum 1;. Clark,

aaaimors River-ton, N. 1.,

tamer Company, Delair, N; 1., a Dela to Kieckhei'er oncorporation ofApplication October 16, 1940, Serial No. 261,410

' '4 Claims. ((1229-15) This invention relates to improvements inconnected containers.

'Heretofore it has been common to ship eggs in containers of fiberboard,corrugated board, or the like, having a capacity of thirty dozen.Frequently, however, wholesalers of this commodity have a call from someretailer who cannot handle the larger quantity, for half a case orfifteen dozen eggs. This necessitates removing eggs from one of thelarge containers and transferring half a case to a. smaller receptacle.It is objectionable to pack eggs originally in unconnected fifteen dozencontainer because this necessitates double handling and double truckingcharges where the charge is based on the number of packages.

It has heretofore been proposed to form a large size container havingspaced partitions therein dividing the container into two equal partseach capable of accommodating a half case of goods, and this type ofcontainer is separable by the' use of a knife to form two independentcontainers of smaller size. This construction, while suitable for thepurpose, requires special manufacture and is relatively expensive.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above mentionedproblem by the use of two containers of small size, each small containerbeing in general of standard form and capable of being made on standardmachinery, and said containers having novel means cooperable with eachother to provide for rigid connection of the containers for originalhandling and shipment while permitting quick separation when required.

A further object of the invention is to provide two small size connectedcontainers which may be quickly separated without opening either of thecontainers or handling the contents, each small size container providinga complete enclosure and complete protection for the product therein Afurther object of the invention is to provide connected containers ofthe type described which may be shipped to the user in connected andcollapsed form.

A further object of the invention is to provide connected containers ofthe type described,

"wherein the end walls which are exposed when each of the smallercontainers will have a hand hole in each end wall.

A more specific object of theinvention i to provide connected containersformed of two small containers each including a body sheet bent to formfour side walls, an angularly bent stitching flap at one end 'of saidbody sheet connected to the opposite end of the said sheet adjacent onecorner of the'container, said last mentioned end of the body sheethaving an extension which projects beyond the corner of the container,and said containers being positioned end to end with the extension onone container overlapping and connected to one side wall of the adjacentcontainer, and with the extension of said adjacent container overlappingand connected to the opposite side wall of the first container.

v A further object of the invention is to provide an improved hand holeconstruction particularly adapted for use in connection with eggcontainers, wherein there are cuts extending into the material andpartially outlinin a hand hole, the material within said partial outlinehaving a cut extending longitudinally of said outline midway of thewidth thereof to form two flaps, one bendable on a fold line forming theupper margin of'the hand hole, and the other bendable on a fold lineforming the lower margin of the hand hole, said flaps being readilyreturnable to closing position whereby circulation of air through thecontainer is prevented when such circulation is not desired, and saidupper-flap when bent inwardly providing additional width of contactagainst the hand when the container is being lifted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a constructionas abovedescribed wherein the'end fiapsof the container are of such length thatwhen turned down onto the outside of th end walls the lower edges ofsaid flap will coincide with the upper edges of the hand holes. Thus theend walls are reinforced during lifting and additional width of contactagainst the hand at the upper margin of the hand hole is provided.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of theimproved connected container and all its parts and combinations as set'forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof. 7 1

In the accompanying drawingillustrating one complete embodiment of thepreferred form of the invention in which the same reference nu- :eralsdesignate the same parts in all of the Fig. 1 is a perspective view ofone of the containers in closed condition;-

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the container in open condition;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal line 3-3 of Fig- 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line H of Fig. 1, part being brokenaway;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view illustrating how the connectedcontainers may be collapsed;

and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the container parts after it hasbeen separated.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the container may be formedof solid fiberboard, corrugated board, or any other suitable material.One of the connected containers, designated generally by the numeral 8,comprises a main body sheet bent to form side walls 8, l8, and 12 (seeFig. 4). The end of the side wall 9 has an angularly bent stitching flapl3 which is secured by staples, or the like, It to the side wall l2. Asthus far described the construction is standard and the box may bemanufactured on standard machinery. During such-manufacture, however,the side wall I2 is made longer than the side wall l0, so that there isan extension l5 which projects beyond the corner of the container 8. Thecontainer 8 is also provided with upper closure flaps l8, l1, l8, andI9,- and with bottom closure flaps 28, 2|, 22, and 23 which are of theusual construction.

The other connected container, designated generally by the numeral 24,is formed in identical manner to the container 8 and compri es anelongated body sheet bent to form side walls 25, 28, 21, and 28. Astitching flap 29 bent from the side wall is connected by staples,stitching, or the like, 30 to the wall 28. The wall 28 has an extension3| which is identical in all respects to the extension iii of thecontainer 8.

The container 24 has upper'closure flaps 32, 33, 34, and 35, and bottomflaps 38, 31, 38, and 38.

The two similarly formed containers are positioned as shown in thedrawing, with the extension 3i of the container 24 overlapping the sidewall Ill of the container 8, and with the extension ii of the container8 overlapping side wall 28 of the container 2|. Extension 3| is securedto the wall III by staples or the like 48, and the extension I5 issecured to the wall 25 by staples or the like 4 l In order to facilitateseparation of the connected containers it is preferred to weaken thefiberboard along the line of severance by lines of perforations 42 and 3which extend along the extensions 3| and I5 respectively. The lines ofseverance may be made more apparent by printing an annaline tracing lineover the lines of perforation, and arrows pointing to the lines togetherwith instructions may also be printed on the containers.

Each of the walls 21, 25, 9 and H may have curved cuts 44 and 45extending therein with a longitudinal cut 46 connecting the centers ofthe cuts 44 and 45. This forms an upper flap 41 which is foldableinwardly on a fold line 48 which coincides with the upper margin of thehand hole. A lower flap 49 is also provided which is foldable inwardlyon a fold line 58 coinciding with the lower margin of the hand hole.Thus when the containers are connected as in Fig. 1,thehandholesinthewallsfl and II maybeused to lift the connectedcontainers, and also when sectional view taken on the containers areseparated each end wall will have a hand hole therein, as is clearlyindicated in Fig. 6. 7

It is preferred to have the hand holes so located that when the flaps 32or l8 are folded downwardly, as is the flap 32 in Fig. 2, or when theflaps 34 or [6 are folded downwardly after the containers are separated,the lower edges of said flaps will coincide with the upper margins 48 ofthe hand holes, as indicated by the flap 32 in I Fig. 2. Thus the upperportions of the end walls are reinforced during lifting and in additionan extra thickness of material is presented to the grasp of the hand inaddition to the double thickness formed by bending the upper hand holdflap inwardly.

The connected containers of Fig. 1 may be quickly separated by the useof any instrument such as a knife along the perforated lines 42 and 43to provide two smaller containers, one of which is illustrated in Fig.6. Each of the smaller containers is identical to an originally formedsmaller box except that it carries the connecting extension 3| or l5 ofthe other container thereon.

The surfaces of the normally concealed end walls 9 and 25, which formthe outerends of the smaller containers after separation, may haveadvertising printed thereon'and may otherwise be made to serve all ofthe purposes of an orign n box end. i Y

Each of the connected containers may be equipped with the well-known eggflats and cellular partitions to support eggs if the containers arebeing used for this commodity. After being packed with articles such aseggs, the upper and lower closure flaps may be closed in the usual way,as shown in Fig. 1, and maintained in closed condition by the use of anadhesive, by taping, by or by any other desired means.

The small containers may be connected by the box manufacturer andshipped to the consumer in collapsed form, as is clearly indicated inFig. 5. The packer may then pack and ship the double size connectedcartons, and the wholesaler may separate the connected containers or notas remiiredbytheretailer.

Although only one form of the invention has been shown and described, itis obvious that various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and all of such changes arecontemplated as may come within the scope of the claims.

What we claim is:

1. Qonnected containers comprising two small containers each having'upper and lower closure flaps in connection with the upper and loweredges of each Upright wall, and each having a corner extensionprojecting from one of the upnght corners, said containers beingpositioned end to end with side walls in alinement and with theextension on one container overlapp and connected to one upright sidewall of the adiacent container, and with the extension of said adjacentcontainer overlapping and connected to the opposite upright side wall ofthe first container to hold the containers in a position simulating asingle large size container;

2. Connected containers comprising two small containers each including abody sheet bent to form four side walls, the upper and lower edges ofsaid side walls having upper and lower closure flaps foldably connectedthereto, an angularly bent securing flap at one end of said body sheetextending between said upper and lower edges and connected to theopposite end of said sheet adjacent one comer of the container, saidlast mentioned end or the sheet having an extension which projectsbeyond the corner or the container at right angles to said securingflap, said two containers being positioned end to end with said adjacentends in substantial parallelism and with the extension on one containeroverlapping and connected to one side wall of the adjacent container,and with the extension of said adjacent container overlapping andconnected to the opposite side wall of the first container.

3. Connected containers comprising two small containers positioned endto end with adjacent end walls substantially juxtaposed and insubstantial parallelism and with the top loading ends of the containersopenin'g upwardly, the upright side walls of the two containers being insubstantial alinement, a severable connecting extension projectingintegrally from one of said alined side walls or one of the containersand overlapping and rigidly secured to the alined side wall of thesecond container, and a severable connecting extension projectingintegrally irom the opposite side wall of said second container in areverse direction from the first mentioned extension and rigidly securedto the alined side wall of the first container.

4. Connected containers of fiberboard or the like comprising two smallcontainers each having upright walls the upper horizontally extendingedges of which are formed with foldable flaps to provide a top portionfor the container, one of the corners of the containeiawhich extendsfrom the bottom of the container to said top having an extension whichprojects beyond the plane of one of the upright walls, said uprightwalls of the two small containers being substantially juxtaposed and inparallelism with one another, with the extension of one containeroverlapping and connected to an upright wall of the adjacent container,and with the extension of said adjacent container overlapping andconnected to an opposite upright wall of the first container to holdsthe containers rigidly in a position simulating a single large sizecontainer.

HERBERT M. STUART B. CLARK.

